Whitley Ann - 15 months old!

It boggles my mind every time she does something new and big and WAY ahead of when Naylor or Lalon did it!  I keep thinking she's likely a genius, and she may be, but then I do have to give a little credit to Naylor and Lalon for keeping her intrigued and wanting to keep up!

I took her to the pediatrician for her 15 month well-check and two shots and she looked great all around.  She's definitely growing and while she's certainly not hurting for a meal, I think she has slimmed down slightly with all the running around she's doing these days.  If nothing else, it's certainly wearing her out because she's had some mornings where I've had to go wake her up!

Here are her 15 month and 1 week stats; we go for another check in September when she's 18 months old.

24 lbs - 85%
31.5" - 80%
46.6 cm (head circumference) - 75%

She has 12 teeth total now: 4 molars, 4 top center and 4 bottom center (she does have a not so pleasant habit of testing them out on skin occasionally, we're working on stopping that).

She's talking a bunch, more than I had given her credit for actually... a few things I can think of at the moment are listed below, but she DEFINITELY understands and follows directions.  Well, most of the time!


Hi, bye, Mama, Daddy, Naylor, Kitty, shoe, some version of cup/juice, "what's that?", baby, blows kisses and gives kisses / loves her babies, uh-oh and let's not forget "NO!" while screaming....

Here's a picture of sweet girl playing in the yard over the weekend.  One of her top favorite past times is climbing, doesn't matter what and if it seems dangerous / would potentially give me a heart attack, even better!!

Last Day of School!

Naylor and Lalon headed off to their last day of school for the 2011-2012 year.  It has been a very fun year for them and boy how they've grown!  I took a picture of them before they left and then later remembered I did the same for the first day of school, so I scouted that picture out to compare... WOW!  Lalon is like a whole new person - she's so tall and thin compared to the beginning of the year, almost as tall as Naylor now!

I know the kids will miss their friends, Naylor will especially miss his best buddy Jack, but I think we'll have Jack over for a play date at the pool for sure.

It's amazing to look back over the year and see just how much has changed in them both and I certainly credit their teachers for a big part in that growth!  Ms. Selena, Ms. Marilyn and Ms. Tanya have guided Naylor through a big learning year and fully transitioned him to a big boy.  Ms. Starr and Ms. Debra have found great strengths in not tying Lalon up... HA!!  I'm kidding, but they certainly knew how to not always be roped in by her smile and charm; I think we still need to work on Ms. Molly because she's a sucker for some Lalon.  :)

We will miss school this summer, but look forward to next year when they will both be in big kid classes (but different ones) and will go Tues / Wed / Thurs from 8:30 -12:30pm.  Whitley Ann and I will still enjoy our time together and depending on how things are going, she may start after Christmas one or two days... I'm not promising anything just yet though!

THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL YEAR!!

 First Day - 8.25.11

Last Day - 6.7.12

Mmmmm beef jerkey.

Brian's family arrived this morning and Pat brought with him the dehydrator we gave him for Christmas.  I'm not sure who was more excited about this, Brian or Pat, but let's just say they were both excited!!

They headed out just after dinner to get the supplies so that the meat could marinate overnight then we dehydrate the next evening.  We all agreed we should do some samplings before doing it all one way; it's quite possible they got carried away with that part...

They picked up a beef brisket and another piece, maybe a loin (?) and Brian started the slicing.  Pat was on the other side mixing up the marinade and then we set up the sample bags of Texas Pete, Cholula and Texas Pete Chipotle.

 

After doing those, I think the consensus was that the original TX Pete and Cholula were the best.  Then they got fancy and did some General Tsao's and two REALLY hot, hot sauces named Tongue and Fire.  In my personal opinion, I still vote for Pat's original TX Pete recipe and the Cholula!

The guys had an awesome time making it up and it was fun to see the process all the way through.

Swimming!

Yesterday was the beginning of swim lessons for Naylor.  He'll be going for 45 minutes Monday - Thursday this week and next week.  So off we went yesterday morning for the pool... I was going to leave Naylor with the instructor and the girls and I would play in the kiddie area until he was done.  He started out strong and did great, but was getting over it towards the last 10 minutes.  I think he was over it because he could hear and see Lalon pitching one of the biggest fits of her life.  For almost 45 minutes, I sat in the kiddie area with her as she screamed and cried because she needed to "go to swim class too".  So we sat, she cried and Naylor eventually heard her, but we powered through the last few minutes.

I contacted the swim class folks after we got home to see if Lalon could join the class and they said sure!  So last night before bed we practiced our "big arms" and talked about going back to the pool.  This morning everyone was in a little better spirits to return to the pool, but when we got there it was kind of cold.

They did their lesson though, albeit with blue lips and constantly asking to go home, but they did great.  Lalon gave it 110% - she jumped in, kicked, did arms, put her head under water - the girl loved it.  She even jumped in one time when it wasn't her turn... good thing the teacher was watching and pulled her up.  I was playing with the camera and caught part of it - that's good parenting right there folks!

We had packed a picnic for the pool, but they were all freezing, so we came home just in time for the sun to come out and had our picnic by our pool instead.

Here's to 6 more successful swim classes with blazing sunshine!!

DAY 1:

 Whitley Ann was happy enough...

 Lalon was not!

 Naylor at the end of class, ready to go home

DAY 2:

 Naylor and Lalon waiting their turn.

 Whitley Ann making silly faces while she enjoys a snack.

 Lalon doing big kicks!

 Lalon attempting to follow Naylor and teacher Maggie although she doesn't know how to swim... Maggie saved her thankfully.

 Naylor big kicking

 Naylor freezing

 Whitley Ann having a fun time wrecking my bag.

Other projects...

While I'm on the topic of projects, thought I'd toss this out there too...

I got the pieces together and painted and then while Dimitris had the saw thingy going, he cut down the 4x4 for me so that I could put this bad boy together.  It turned out just as I had hoped.  I think I'll tweak the bow, but was happy with it!


My version (with Inspector Lalon checking it's placement):

Two spots of inspiration for this bad boy:

Welcome Sign tutorial

Welcome Sign tutorial 2 (includes topper) I followed this one a little more, but either will work!

I also saw these on none other than Pinterest and loved the quotes... so I tried my hand at painting canvas.  Considering I have zero art skills, I was pleased with my very first attempt ever.  I think with some practice, I could do some cute stuff!

Inspiration: from Pinterest, although it seems the link / site is no longer there...

 My version for our screened porch:

This post is dedicated to Dimitris

I know I've been on extended hiatus... we've been busy having FUN!  I'll try to back-log and catch you up on things, along with pictures as I do.  I thought it fitting to resume blogging with the latest project under our belts thanks to Brian and our dear friend Dimitris.

D was up two weekends ago and I had shared with him and Brian a picture of some shelving / cubby things I wanted to build for the garage.  After some scheming, sketching, planning and two trips to Home Depot the project was under way.  They guys did an AWESOME job!!  I can't express enough just how happy I am with how it turned out.  They went above and beyond my dreams - really, I was just hoping for some plywood slapped together and they have gone all out and it looks like something straight from Pottery Barn.  I'm impressed and happy to be (momentarily) the garage envy of the street.  (I fully recognize this is fleeting as it will take us about 20 seconds to fill them with junk!)

After the guys were done I primed and painted it and then painted it again.  I picked up some hooks and Brian put those in last night.  This morning, Whitley Ann and I headed out on a mission to find baskets to fill these cubby holes to help keep some unity to the clutter (or at least help camouflage it!).  While at the store with my measuring tape, I began to think it would have been better to find some baskets first and then build around them... I'm not sure we have standard measurements, but I did find some things I hope will work.  I had wanted some baskets a little simpler, but this is what I could find that would work.  I'm hoping maybe the bright colors will help encourage the kids that cleaning up is fun!  

THANK YOU BRIAN AND DIMITRIS!!!   I **LOVE** my new shelves!!!  Now, to get them loaded up, so I can move the other stuff around and get my car back in the garage since it's starting to push 90* outside this week.

This is the photo of inspiration from a favorite blogger of mine: Memories on Clover Lane 

She also has a recipe blog: Cooking on Clover Lane that has lots of great hits!

 Higgins' new shelving unit completed and primed.

 Painted, hooks up, baskets in place!  

I'm actually testing out how I like the look before I load the baskets down and am unable to return them... although really cute, I'm leaning towards returning the far left column of baskets since they aren't quite practical for the space.  I'm going to feel it out today, but I see a return in my future!

Chicken Brunswick Stew

Chicken Brunswick Stew from The Lady & Sons (Paula Deen)

serves 6-8

• (1) 2 1/2 lb fryer 
• (1) 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, sweetened with 1/3 cup sugar
• (1) 16 oz can creamed corn
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup prepared barbecue sauce 
• 1 T liquid smoke (found in grocery store)
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 1 T vinegar (I used white)
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce 
• salt and pepper to taste 
• celery salt to taste 

In a large pot, boil chicken until meat falls off bone, approx 45 minutes; drain (reserve 1 - 2 cups of stock).  Remove skin and bones; chop meat.  In a separate pot, mix chicken and remaining ingredients.  Simmer slowly for about 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking.  (Add a little bit of stock if stew gets too think.)  Serve over steamed rice.

**Robin's edits / notes**

• This was a new recipe for me, so I followed it exactly (aside from adding the lima beans) and thought it was good, but a bit sweet for my personal taste.  Next time, I will not add the 1/3 cup of sugar - I think between the ketchup and bbq sauce, it will be sweet enough for me.  I'll most likely also add just a dash or two of a hot sauce next time too or maybe just do that on my own bowl - either Tabasco or Texas Pete would be good I think.
• Also, I have always eaten it like we did last night, more as a soup if you will, so I didn't do the rice, but I think that could be good / hearty as a meal in itself.
• The chicken I cooked was closer to 5 lbs as I was debating which recipe to use... so I had double the chicken the recipe called for.
• I had on hand a few pieces, probably about 1 lb of beef briskett - I tossed it in since I had it on hand (it had been smoked).
• It says to use another pot; I don't like washing dishes that much!  I reserved 2 cups of stock and did end up using about 1 1/2 after it had cooked a bit.  The remainder of the stock I put in ziplock bags in 1/2 cup and 2 cup portions that I lay flat and freeze.  Next time I need stock in a recipe - voila!  Once I had bagged up the stock, I poured all the ingredients back in to that pot and started simmering.
• I added a small bag (10-12 oz +/-) frozen lima beans - I've always had lima beans in the Brunswick stew I've eaten, so I tossed them in with the rest.
• Liquid smoke; I found it by the BBQ sauce section, small 5 oz bottle at Harris Teeter 
• Just for your purposes, I used Kraft Honey Hickory Smoke BBQ sauce - it's what I had on hand.  Again, I think this sauce is sweet enough in itself, that I won't add the sugar next time.
• I didn't have crushed tomatoes, so I used petite diced - once it's cooked down a bit, it's kind of all the same for this particular dish at least!